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A new U.S. Department of Agriculture report on farmland shows the highest values in history, according to analysis from the American Farm Bureau Federation.

USDA’s “Land Values Summary” confirmed another increase in the value of U.S. farmland. AFBF economist Danny Munch said the value rose 4.3% or $180 per acre. This brings the national average to a record high of $4,350 per acre. 

“This marks the fifth consecutive year of land value increases, though the pace has slowed over the years,” Munch said. “Cropland values rose by 4.7% to $5,830 per acre, and pastureland values climbed 5% to $1,920 an acre.

Cash rents also hit record high levels, rising 0.6% to $161 per acre. Munch said the slower rise in land prices compared to previous years is due to multiple factors.

“As commodity prices have receded and the farm income picture has been more uncertain, that has caused land price increases in the ag community to deflate or be more uncertain,” he said. “Unlike prior years when Midwest row-crop states saw double-digit increases, we actually saw no double-digit increases across states this year. The biggest increases were in Michigan, Tennessee and South Dakota.”

For Indiana, cropland values increased an average of 4.8%, while farmland cash rent values rose an average of 1.7%, AFBF said.

Munch said these changes in value will have a mixed impact on U.S. agriculture.